Acela and car collide

[battalion51]

Looks Like Trainset 5 Power Car 2009 had an accident this morning in Waterford, CT. The accident happened around 8:00 this morning when the 6:15 southbound Acela from Boston to Penn Station struck a car. The Acela was on the scene for more than two hours before it was sent back to New London to discharge its passengers. As of Noon the line was still shut down as the investigation continues. The inital ivestigation is showing that the grade crossing warning device was operating properly, this was also confirmed by several eyewitnesses. No word on reroutes or delays from Amtrak at this time. Coverage from WTNH can be seen here.

 

[jccollins]

I think this the the first time I have ever heard of a train/car collision involving the Acela. I guess I kind of thought most of the route was grade separated since those trains travel at much higher speeds than our trains out west. Are there any reports of how fast the train was moving at the time of the collision?

 

[AlanB]

I guess I kind of thought most of the route was grade separated since those trains travel at much higher speeds than our trains out west.

Most of the route is grade seperated, however between New Haven and Providence there are I believe 8 grade crossings that remain. Three of those crossings are in downtown New London, where the train is already creeping along at less than 25 MPH due to the sharp curves in town.

What is interesting is the fact that all crossings are protected by quad gates. So one has to wonder how the car got onto the crossing, if the gates were working properly?

I'm not positive, but if memory serves, I'd say that within Waterford the max speed is probably 50 or 60 mph. The train is just about done navigating some of the sharp curves near New London at that point, but not quite done.

Must have been interesting evacuating the train at New London, since they only have a mini-high platform there, that's only large enough to platform 1 car.

 

[AlanB]

Sadly it would appear that two people were killed.

An Amtrak Acela train collided with a car at a crossing in eastern Connecticut Wednesday morning, killing two people and causing major delays on the rail line between Boston and Washington.
The accident happened at 7:42 a.m. on the southbound tracks about 2 1/2 miles from New London along the Connecticut shoreline, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said. Video taken from a WTNH-TV helicopter shows the engine of the train resting on wreckage of a white car about 100 yards south of the crossing at Miner Lane.

The story, along with a picture, from the Hartford Courant.

Thanks to PRR60 for finding this story and posting the link on OTOL.

 

[AlanB]

Are there any reports of how fast the train was moving at the time of the collision?

A source close to the investigation tells Eyewitness News that the Acela train was going about 71 miles per hour just before it hit the car, which was on the grade crossing between the gates.

Looks like my guess was off by about 10 MPH, but this is still preliminary info.

The full story from WFSB.com TV 3.